Imagine living a life filled with deliciously decadent, healthy meals and a nightly champagne toast? Imagine loving your body and eating for your health – as opposed to a number on the scale?

It’s completely possible. Here, lifestyle and wellness coach Cara Alwill Leyba shows you how.

As a woman who has struggled with her weight for most of her life, I know what it’s like to feel frustrated with fad diets. I’ve done them all: Atkins, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers; I’ve even tried eating like a French woman and let me tell you, I just end up hoarding blocks of cheese and drinking a bottle of wine for dinner. Portion control was never my thing.

It wasn’t until a good friend suggested I ditch the idea of ‘diets’ and start eating healthy, nutritious foods (mostly organic and GMO-free). She recommended a mainly vegetarian diet filled with fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and the occasional piece of fish. Processed, chemical-laden foods were a no-no. When I asked her if alcohol was on the menu she replied: ‘Of course, just drink champagne!’ Champagne has approximately 90 calories per glass, making it one of the lights drinks available. I was in, and ‘The Champagne Diet’ was born.